More than fear is driving republicans into fascism

The most common explanation for republican attacks on voting rights and radical authoritarian policies is fear of the ex-president. In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Greg Sargent makes a compelling case that what the GOP is doing is worse than simple cowering in fear. It is a major, affirmative attack on democracy and elections that nearly the entire GOP leadership openly supports. Sargent writes:

Obviously fear of attacks from Trump — or from right-wing media or primary challengers — is one motivator. But by itself, this simply won’t do: It implies that Republicans would prefer on principle to stand firm in defense of democracy but are not doing so simply out of fear of facing immediate political consequences.

It is impossible to square this reading with the concrete and affirmative steps that many Republicans are taking right now.

Take the shenanigans in Arizona, where GOP state legislators have commissioned a recount of ballots in Maricopa County. It is being conducted by a firm whose chief executive has promoted nonsense about fraud in the 2020 election.

Given all this, it’s impossible to chalk this effort up to “cowardice” or “fear of Trump.” It is a deliberate action plainly undertaken to manufacture fake evidence for the affirmative purpose of further undermining faith in our electoral system going forward.

Stefanik has endorsed this effort. Oozing with phony piety, she claims she merely wants “answers” for Americans concerned about “election security.” Of course, the opposite is true: Stefanik is trying to undermine, not reinforce, voter confidence in our electoral outcomes.

This is not the act of a “coward” who “fears Trump” and would vouch for the integrity of the election if only she could do so without consequences.

Rather, it’s the act of someone who calculates that a willingness to create fake pretexts for treating legitimate election outcomes (ones that Republicans hate) as invalid is a big selling point in today’s GOP. If she does win a leadership role, her calculation will be proven correct.

Underscoring the point, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), the chair of the Republican Study Committee, made an extraordinarily disingenuous appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” Banks had endorsed the Texas lawsuit, which would have invalidated millions of votes in four states based on fictions, and voted to overturn President Biden’s electors in Congress.

Pressed by Fox’s Chris Wallace to admit Biden won “fair and square,” Banks kinda sorta acknowledged it, but immediately pivoted to claiming those actions were entirely justified, by insisting that his “serious concerns” about the election were still valid.

Time to reckon with GOP radicalization

The lies about 2020 and the increasing dedication to destroying democratic institutions in the quest for power are inextricable from one another. As Jay Rosen says, the press is comfortable calling out the former — it can be packaged as a “fact check." But being forthright about the latter requires depicting one party as far and away the only primary threat to our democratic stability. That’s accurate, but it’s uncomfortably adversarial.  

Relatedly, describing Republicans as “cowards” who “fear Trump” casts their machinations as mere reluctant efforts to cope with externally imposed circumstances they’d prefer not to be dealing with. This lets Republicans off the hook in a very fundamental way. It risks misleading the country about the true depths of GOP radicalization — and the real dangers it poses. (emphasis added)

Some people see the grave danger the Republican party's relentless quest for authoritarian power poses to  democracy, elections, democratic institutions, civil liberties and the rule of law. Few Republican conservatives see this. Some poll data indicates that most independents and Democrats also do not see this danger or its urgency. Conservatives are constantly bathed in comforting dark free speech about the real, immanent danger being Democrats, evil socialism, tyrannical government, threatening immigrants and vicious tyrannical attacks on Christianity, gun ownership and their vision of what America must be. It must be what Republicans want and it will be that way by force if necessary.

Assuming that most Democrats and independents fail to see grave, immediate danger, that is a terrifying blind spot. Republicans can no longer deviate from the path to fascism they are on. Their minds are trapped by their personal and social identities, biases, false beliefs and various circumstances and factors. America is on the verge of falling to an American radical right fascism.